American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) Downgraded to ‘Neutral’ by Citigroup

Citigroup lowered its shares by American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG – Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. Citigroup currently has a price target on the insurer’s stock of $137.00, down from the previous price target of $144.00.

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, May 6. Four analysts rated the stock a “hold” and one gave the stock a “buy” rating. The stock has a consensus rating of “hold” and a consensus price target of $131.75, according to data from MarketBeat.

See our latest analysis for AFG

American Financial Group falls 2.0%

AFG opened at $122.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. American Financial Group has a one-year low of $105.22 and a one-year high of $137.71. The company has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.86.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.06. American Financial Group had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company reported earnings per share of $2.89. Equities research analysts expect American Financial Group to report earnings per share of $10.94 for the current fiscal year.

American Financial Group announces a dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25. High stockholders on Monday, April 15th received a dividend of $0.71. The dividend payment date was Friday, April 12. This represents a dividend of $2.84 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. American Financial Group’s payout ratio is 27.18%.

Insider Activity at American Financial Group

In other American Financial Group news, Director Amy Y. Murray acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $125.17 per share, for a total transaction value of $150,204. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,204. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be found at this link . Insiders own 14.50% of the stock.

Institutional investors criticize the American financial group

Several large investors recently modified their holdings in AFG. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in American Financial Group by 10,460.0% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the insurer’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC increased its position in American Financial Group by 24.5% in the first quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,012 shares of the insurer’s stock worth $2,322,000 after acquiring an additional 3,349 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in American Financial Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,882 shares of the insurer’s stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 8.4% in the first quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 406,092 shares of the insurer’s stock worth $55,423,000 after acquiring an additional 31,574 shares during the period. Finally, Burney Co. increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 6.4% in the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 24,195 shares of the insurer’s stock worth $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

American Financial Group company profile

(Download the free report)

American Financial Group, Inc., an insurance holding company, offers specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company offers property and transportation insurance products, such as property damage and liability insurance for buses and trucks, inland and ocean marine, agriculture and other commercial property and specialty transportation insurance; specialty casualty insurance, primarily including excess and surplus, executive and professional liability, general liability, umbrella and excess insurance, and specialty insurance in targeted markets, as well as customized programs for small and medium-sized businesses and occupational accident insurance; and specialty financial insurance products, including risk management insurance programs for lending and leasing institutions, fidelity and surety products, and trade credit insurance.

Featured Articles

Get American Financial Group news and ratings every day – Enter your email address below to receive a concise summary of the latest news and analyst ratings on American Financial Group and related companies in MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily newsletter.